Trackers: Slow down, you kids

Worried parents can now keep tabs on their childrens driving with a hi-tech whistleblower, reports Joe Lauria

Nearly every weekday at about 2.30pm John Jacobson logs on to his computer, types in his password and views a map that shows him where his son’s car is and how fast he’s driving. Usually the teenager is just a few blocks away, somewhere between school and home in the city of Olathe, Kansas.

For years Jacobson used a global positioning system at his trucking company to check how fast his drivers were travelling and where they were. Such monitoring is now commonplace in the American haulage business.

But his teenage son’s driving made him fret. Joey Jacobson had passed his test at 16 — a year younger than the minimum age in Britain — and wanted straightaway to take advantage of his new freedom. That included meeting friends at their houses, cruising the strip and possibly getting into trouble.